Graduate student resources
- MA students in a free-standing program are encouraged to contact the Financial Aid Office for a list of available resources.
- PhD students, through fellowship, receive five years of guaranteed funding that includes tuition, health fees, an annual stipend, and summer support. Please consult: Fellowship Information for Doctoral Students.
Registration at the Graduate School is a two-part process that consists of registering for individual courses and registering for Residence at the University (RU). All students must complete BOTH parts of the registration process.
- Students in all degree programs are required to register in each fall and spring semester until all degree requirements have been completed or until the time-to-degree limit has been reached.
- Enrollment is the completion of the registration process and affords the full rights and privileges of student status.
Students must petition for Transfer Credit within their first semester of registration.
The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) will consider, in consultation with other faculty, whether the previous training is equivalent to what is required of our M.A. recipients. Students will submit the Application for Transfer Credit and relevant materials to the department’s DGS.
Early in the fall semester, Butler Library offers orientations on research at Columbia and navigating the numerous databases available to Columbia students.
Letters of introduction (Blue Seal Letters) needed to conduct research off campus are easily obtained through the Department Chair, Director of Graduate studies, or the Graduate School.
Career resources for MA and PhD students are available through the Center for Career Education.
Career services: GSAS Compass
Department of French: placement record
Additional PhD resources
GSAS Center for Teaching and Learning provides ongoing workshops and opportunities.
Limited carrel is space available to graduate students in Butler Library. GSAS sets the basic requirements for awarding carrels; students must have earned the MPhil, be within six years of first date of registration, and have the department’s support.
Students that meet the criteria will submit a brief proposal to the DGS outlining the expected progress. Priority will be given to students that have a Dissertation Writing Fellowship (DWF) during the year of award.
Students are encouraged to participate at conferences and to apply for funding to assist with the associated costs (travel, lodgings, application fees). The Department will fund up to $1,200 in reimbursement en-route to the PhD degree.
Application for consideration is required before conference participation. Contact the Director of Graduate Studies with the following:
- Conference description
- Copy of participation invitation, or program page (NB: if you have not yet heard from the organizers about your invitation to speak, you may still apply for funding, which may be approved conditionally)
- Budget outline
- Your completed portion of the GSAS Conference Matching Travel Fund application. This is a required step in securing Department funding. (Refer to GSAS' deadline schedule.)
Students are encouraged to choose conference participation carefully, it is not recommended to access the funding aggressively in Y1-3.
Students in the process of writing the dissertation are encouraged to become familiar with The GSAS Writing Studio's support programming.
Please access the DISSERTATION TOOLKIT to review information concerning fellowships & awards; dissertation guidelines & resources.